will marker pen damage growing embryos?

[spish]

i asked my kids to mark all the eggs under the broodys so i could see if anyone else was adding to the piles. get home from work...they've marked the eggs with permanent green marker pens..hearts for the chickens eggs, circles and crosses for the duck eggs ........pretty as they look i didnt know whether to laugh or cry....

but now im thinking...well...arent eggs porous? wont the pen seep in the egg? what consequence will that have on the growing chicks??

so yeah...now im panicing.....could the chemicals in marker pens get through the membrane and damage the chicks?? i normally use pencil, but the stated i always whinge how the pencil rubs off so they took the initiative to mark the eggs with something more permanent

 

[chicken crazed 1o1]

I mark mine with a black marker I dont know if it makes a difference ?

 

[Dar]

i think you will be fine...

 

[saladin]

They'll probably be ok.

From now on use a pencil.

 

[spish]

*breathes a sigh of relief*

thanks guys.....

 

[sgtmom52]

I always use Sharpie Markers with no problems. I even checked the inside of the shells after they hatched and you can't see the marker on the inside.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've used Sharpies and soft leaded pencils. I have not noticed any difference in hatch rate. Egg shells are porous and the solvents are not good, but they evaporate so fast that they are not going to get through the egg shell and the membrane underneath to do any harm.

 

[MuskokaChick]

I used a sharpie before I *knew* better, I was worried too, but yesterday one of my sharpie marker eggs hatched and so far she seems fine and I looked in the egg as well and nothing.

 

[Dar]

Quote:
how do you stop the pencil from being rubbed off?

 

[Denninmi]

Use a "china marking pencil" (office supply or art supply store) -- doesn't rub off easily, but no solvents.